Super 8 vs. Attack the Block
– Representation of Youth
In
this essay I will be discussing how the typical youth conventions nowadays are
used in these two films: Super 8 and Attack the Block. Super 8 was directed by
J.J. Abrams (2011), this film is about a small group of friends who live in a
small Ohio Town who witness a disastrous train crash whilst making a Super 8
movie and they soon suspect that the whole train crash wasn't an accident.
Shortly after, you begin to see a lot of unusual disappearances and events
beginning to unfold. The local deputy, who is Joey (the main protagonists)
father, tries to uncover the truth. However, the truth was far more terrifying
than any of them could ever imagine. Attack the Block (2011) was directed
by Joe Cornish, this film is about a small council estate in South London,
where hostile aliens have fallen from the sky. A local teenage gang take it
upon themselves to fight off the unwanted visitors, but quickly discover they
are outnumbered by these pitch-black, bear like creatures with glowing razor
sharp teeth. Attack the Block is a fast-paced and inventive
action/science-fiction film with an unconventional set of heroes.
Both
of these films represent youth by using two groups of young people who are
adventurous and are willing to risk their lives for the life of others, each
film represents the youths in different ways. Nowadays the media and our
general society would see us being dangerous individuals, who go around causing
havoc, but as we look at these films in more depth, we notice that Super 8 is
completely opposite to how us youths are thought of today. None of the
teenagers in Super 8 caused any pain to anyone, instead of doing what the
typical teenagers in Attack the Block did, they spent their time writing
scripts and filming for their own movie.
As
I explored the films in more depth, the key points that I have chose to discuss
really show the different types of youth and how we are seen in people’s eyes.
Example one, the scene in which Super 8 opens with, the children are all
dressed up in smart attire as they pay respect at Joey’s Mother’s funeral. The
camera angle, which is a wide angled lens, shows the main protagonist Joey
looking content and timid as he holds his Mother’s locket in his hand. This
illustrates that he is an innocent young child, who is involved in one the
kindest friendship groups as you can see them paying respect in his home for
his Mother. This contradicts the way in which the society we live in thinks of
us youths nowadays, we aren’t all bustling through the streets causing havoc,
however, when you look at the opening scene of Attack the Block, it undeniably
shows that yes, a few teens can be disrespectful and rebellious, the main
reason why we think this is because the first thing the gang do is mug the
nurse. She was defenceless, there was nothing she could do and in this opening
scene, we notice the difference in dialogue. In Super 8 the youths are well
educated and have perfect diction, then when you look at Attack the Block’s
gang members dialect, you notice that they are very chav’ like and don’t seem
well educated. Also, another difference is the clothing, from smart attire to a
gang of tracksuits and scarf’s, which cover their mouths, resembling a terrorist’s
look. It mirrors the way terrorists in the present day act and dress like and
the way in which the gang members act are the way in which terrorists act. Going
back to how our society perceives us, you can now understand their points in
which we are all the same.
Furthermore,
the next two scenes that I have decided to analyse in more depth are the aliens
arrivals in both films. Firstly, in Super 8, we actually didn’t know whether
there were aliens or not, all we knew was that there was a train crash. The
youths thought exactly the same as what we did. It was unusual! Joey and his
group of friends simply ran when the train crash happened, this is a normal
thing for any teenage group to do, because it’s what anybody would do.
Although, when it came to Attack the Block it was a completely different story.
Joe Cornish used a lightning speed effect so it looked like a comet had crashed
to the earth, but instead they dropped crates to the ground, inside those
crates were the aliens. The black, bear like aliens that in-fact were killing
machines. Now, unlike normal youths, Moses and his gang went into crates armed
with metal and wood that they collected from around them and went into the
crate and smashed the baby alien to pieces. They didn’t know what was in there
until they came out, there could have been anything in there and it may have
not done anything to them. This inevitably conveys that people who look like
Moses gang would definitely cause damage or harm to people that are either
around them or in the way. Once again, Attack the Block links with what the
society and media think of youths nowadays and then Super 8 contradicts this
because they acted in the same way in which any person would do. Overall, the representation
of the youths in these two scenes suggests that kids will be kids and some may
act in a smarter manner and some may be completely ludicrous and self centered.
The colours in these two scenes are also very significant when representing the
youths. In Super 8, the colours are earthy and there are some really dark
browns and some reds in there, this to me, implies that it’s quite close to
home. In a way, it’s as if there is a passion in those colours, a passion for
filming their own film, a passion for Joey and Alice. As we explore the scene
from Attack the Block we notice the cold colours of blue and black, this
represents the feeling in which Moses and his gang feel towards the aliens that
have landed on their ‘territory’ and this can then again their damaged,
criminal side, their cold blood towards their area and people. The colours put
forth the differences between the two groups of youths from the two films, the
browns and reds show heart and the blues and blacks show their coldness!
Lastly,
I will be discussing the relationships between the main protagonists and how
the friendships they shared gave them strength and will power to fight on and
show how the representation of youth has contradicted society in Super 8 and
that although Moses was a hero in Attack the Block, he still is a criminal for
the way in which he saved his estate. Firstly, when looking at Super 8 and we
see the scene where Joey saves Alice’s life from the alien underground, we
notice how much strength and courage he has when he goes to speak to the alien.
If I was him, there would be no chance of me going to speak to the alien, but
Joey got up there because he knew that his friends were behind him and they needed
saving and he just had full courage and if you were to look at the alien, you
can see almost innocence. You may be thinking, that’s slightly strange for an
alien to look innocent but the alien has a resemblance of ET. Originally, JJ
Abrams wanted to work with Steven Spielberg on Super 8, which is the alien has
resemblance of ET, the features are innocent looking and less alien like more
toy like. It was almost like Super 8 was a love letter to Steven Spielberg,
thanking him for working on it with him and for being a generally amazing film
director/producer. With Attack the Block it’s a completely different story,
once again, Moses the main protagonist out of the gang takes things into his
own hands. He musters up the courage and strength as well for his friends, to
be that heroic person in the film, he jumped from a multi story building,
blowing up the aliens inside the flat. Now, bearing in mind that we just found
out that Moses in 15 years old and has the courage to do that, it’s pretty impressive.
However, again, this shows that
the Attack the Block gang do things in a different way, a way in which
terrorist attacks are done (blowing things up) and a way in which most of the
older generation perceive us. It’s
interesting! It’s basically saying that no matter what way they become heroic
or save the day, it’s that strength comes through friendship and that no matter
what happens, friends and others come before you do.
After analysing the two films in high detail, I noticed that youth was represented through the way in which the actors and actresses were portrayed. Example one, in the independent London situated film Attack the Block, we notice that the main characters in the film are a gang of ‘chav’s’. The way in which they speak and dress are the main give away as to who they are inside, personality wise. In society and media usually any youths that are dressed in this way are in-fact addressed as troublesome people, they would usually be seen mugging people or inflicting pain on others, etc. We first see this happen in the beginning of Attack the Block when it all starts out negative, however, as the film progresses we notice a change of heart in the gang of youths, they end up helping people and a lot of positive attitude is spread throughout the characters. It's a completely different story when we look at Super 8, the gang of youths that are involved in this film are the opposite of what youths are thought of today. The film depicts this by the youths involving themselves in something that is harmless and creative, they wanted to make their own Super 8 film away form the rural area. This film evidently goes against what the older generations think of us and they do it by their use of language and positive attitude to their elders who are involved in the film. The representation of youth in both of these films have their negatives and positives.
And show
that we should never, ever, judge a book by their cover.
